The title for this came to me early this morning and for
once I did what a writer should do and wrote it down. I let the idea of putting
a resume together for entrance into heaven run through my mind awhile wondering
how I could make an application for entrance into the Kingdom of God. It was
like a stream slowly meandering its way through a meadow. By all rights I
should have been allowed to drift back to sleep on a lazy Saturday morning.
I think my mind is a bit fertile for this because I have
found myself introducing Jan to Jesus while praying for my mother-in-law saying
things like “Jesus, bring healing to our sister Jan, your servant, a Deaconess
in the church, a woman of faith who serves the poor in spirit, the poor in the
world, and serves the church. Remember her and bring restoration.” I have been
building her resume to Jesus who knows all of that and more about her. I
suppose I should just simplify things and stop the bargaining; “Jesus bring
healing and restoration by your power and grace, let the act of your perfect
sacrifice have its full effect.”
When I’m at work I often turn to those who have experience
with the particular issue that I am wrestling with so why not with this issue?
I sought out the wisdom and words of a couple of old-timers, Paul and James
Paul put together a very nice resume in Philippians 3,
versus 4b-6; he has an impressive pedigree. Yet in versus 7&8 he sets that
notion aside, “7Yet whatever gain I had, these I have come to regard
as loss because of Christ. 8More than that, I regard everything as
loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his
sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish in
order that I may gain Christ, and be found in him,”
So my anemic resume; son of pillars of LCPC, longtime youth
worker, struggling Christian writer…really mean nothing when it is measured
against the perfect sacrifice and doesn’t, in itself, get me any nearer to
Jesus.
James sets the stage for his discourse on faith and works in
chapter 1 verse 22 of the book of James, “22But be doers of the
word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.” In chapter 2: verses 14-26
James juggles faith and works with the keynote in verse 17 “17So faith
by itself, if it has no works, is dead.” And he follows this with “18band
by my works I will show you my faith.”
I have found myself checking off items on my Heavenly To-Do
List thinking that this is the pathway to heaven. It is just no so; it is not
as simple as that at all. While thinking over Paul’s and James’ words I picture
an old-fashioned balance scale and for me to pile good works on one side so
that works outweighs faith and sits firmly on the table is no good; I’ve simply
made myself look good to others. And conversely, if I pile faith up on the
other pan and it comes to rest on the table, I have deceived myself. This begs
the question of how does one pile up faith without works; what does that look
like? Do I sit around reading scripture and then walk around reciting the “I
believe ins” of the Apostle’s Creed and count that as faith. No, I must achieve
the great balance, first by believing and building up my faith and then by
doing the things God sets in front of me because of my faith.
When all is said and done and I find myself at the Gates of
Heaven standing in front of Saint Peter perhaps I will just make it simple and
read him this while he checks for my name in the Book of Life, “Dear Peter, I
am a sinner, a man with a weak heart and checkered past. I am here to throw
myself on the boundless grace of Jesus and claim the power of His resurrection.
Only Jesus’ forgiveness can get me in; nothing that I’ve done or not done, good
or bad, can get me in.”
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